A Bluebird Care North Tyneside Story: I'd Been Staring at the Same Four Walls for Nearly a Year. Erin Changed That.

After two falls and two hospital stays that turned into months of recovery, Mrs F found herself spending most of her days in bed. That went on for nearly ten months. She would walk from one room to the other, and that was about it. Some days she didn't bother getting dressed, staying in her nightclothes until evening. As the weeks passed, the world outside felt further and further away.

Mrs F knew, in her own words, exactly what was happening to her.

Without encouragement I would just wallow. I'd just rot in my bed.

It was an honest thing to say, and a brave one. But knowing something and being able to change it on your own are two very different things.

The trip that changed everything

Mrs F had been feeling down about being stuck indoors. Her carer Erin listened and communicated this with the Care Coordinator Rachael, and then they did something about it. They suggested a trip to a local garden centre, and when hesitation crept in, Erin "just sort of gently encouraged me and gave me the confidence" until Mrs F agreed to go.

Erin drove Mrs F to the garden centre, wheelchair in the car, with Mr F and their daughter following behind. From the moment they set off, something shifted. The journey alone felt like a gift after so long indoors, and they enjoyed the journey:

In her car… yes, that’s right, and we had a sing-song all the way down the ABBA. We put the radio and sang ‘Mamma Mia’ all the way there

Arriving at the garden centre, Mrs F and the rest of the group were able to look around, choose things, and sit down together for a meal in the café. It felt like a reminder of the life Mrs F had been missing.

She came home tired, but it was a different kind of tired. A better kind. She described the day as 

a good day out and the start of feeling able to go out again.

Before long, she was saying something that would have felt impossible just weeks earlier:

"I'm going to do this again."

What real homecare looks like

Erin, Mrs F is quick to say that Erin "a goodie." She doesn't stand for excuses or low days going unchallenged. "Let’s get out of bed and get you dressed," is her approach, and Mrs F means it as the warmest praise when she says that is exactly what she needs.

That combination of warmth and gentle firmness had a real effect. Before Bluebird Care, Mrs F had quietly stopped doing all the small things that used to make her feel like herself. Monthly eyebrow appointments, facials, waxing, a massage, getting her nails done. Nearly a year without any of it.

I miss that… just once a month even

she said.

She spoke about how having her hair, nails and eyebrows done made her feel like "a different person." She had noticed her nails were finally at a decent length again and, inspired by hearing about a friend's recent visit to a new salon nearby, was making plans to go. A new local salon, she noted, that "do everything."

She had also, in the days since the garden centre trip, started getting dressed in the morning and preparing her own breakfast, using a rollator, a wheelchair and a kitchen stool to manage independently. Small steps, but meaningful ones.

Looking ahead

Mrs F already has plans. Her trip the garden centre has helped her to reconnect with herself, and she looks forward to her future trip out to the salon and Marks and Spencer’s café. After that, the aquarium, which she intends to combine with fish and chips. 

A few months ago, none of this would have seemed possible. Now Mrs F is the one making the plans. 

If you or someone you love has found themselves gradually retreating from the world, Mrs F's story is a reminder of what the right support, and the right person, can do.